July 2016

In an article published in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal, Jenner & Block Partners Mary Ellen Callahan and David P. Saunders examine the historic level of Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) enforcement actions brought by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health and Human Services. The authors explain that, in the first half of 2016, OCR collected more than $9 million in HIPAA fines, “a number that surpasses the previous annual record, which was $7.9 million in 2014.” They go on to analyze three of the enforcement actions. Click here to read the full article.

Starting in the late 1990s, changes in consumer class action requirements have shifted the playing field for named plaintiffs. In this short video (2:33), Jenner & Block Partner Jeremy M. Creelan discusses why now is a critical time in this area including new requirements and changes in how the US Supreme Court is interpreting case law following Justice Scalia’s death.

On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (a/k/a the TSCA Reform Act) into law. The TSCA Reform Act received bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, passing both bodies by wide margins. The TSCA Reform Act is a major overhaul of the 40-year-old chemical law, which had fallen short of its goal to protect people and the environment from dangerous chemicals.

The updated law gives EPA the authorities we need to protect American families from the health effects of dangerous chemicals. I welcome this bipartisan bill as a major step forward to protect Americans’ health. And at EPA, we’re excited to get to work putting it into action.